Conway Scenic 7470 to pull farewell excursion

Conway Scenic Railroad farewell steam excursion May 31.

Conway Scenic Railroad No. 7470 will pull a farewell excursion on May 31 prior to be taken out of service in July for its federally-mandated inspection and overhaul.

Conway Scenic #7470 Photo by Paolo Roffo

The Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts club is sponsoring the trip, with a limited-capacity photo special covering most of the “lower” part of the Conway Scenic Railroad.

The trip will depart the North Conway station at 10:30 a.m., heading south to Conway. Then the train will travel north through North Conway to Mountain Junction, where it will reverse direction and head east on the former Maine Central Mountain Division track to Redstone. After a photo stop near the end of the operable track at Redstone, the train returns to Mountain Junction, where a meet with Conway Scenic train No. 20 will provide another photo opportunity. The excursion then goes on through Bartlett to Notchland before heading back to North Conway, making additional photo stops before its scheduled arrival at 4 p.m.

The train will be limited to120 passengers in coach and 36 passengers aboard the parlor car Gertrude Emma. Open coach No. 1557 Black Mountain will be open to all ticketed passengers. The club is also offering a guaranteed bus connection from Boston South Station and Woborn to the train at North Conway.

The Grand Trunk Railway Point St. Charles Shops at Montreal, Quebec, built No. 7470 in 1921. Originally Grand Trunk Railway No. 1795, it became Canadian National Railway No. 7470, Class 0-18-a.

It was acquired in 1968 by CSRR founder Dwight Smith, and in 1974 became Conway Scenic No. 47. It was renumbered back to 7470 in 1989.